Pressurized fluid systems are often used to transport and direct a pressurized fluid through a piping network. A variety of valve configurations can be used to direct and condition the fluidic flow through the system, such as pressure relief valves, emergency shutdown valves, blowdown valves, flapper valves, ball valves, pressure reducing valves (chokes), back pressure valves, pressure regulating valves, etc.
Depending upon the operational environment, a valve may be required to meet certain regulatory and/or system specified requirements, such as maintaining less than a maximum amount of pressure loss through the valve during operation. For example, some pressure relief valve applications require no more than a three percent (3%) loss in pressure through the valve upon valve opening. These and other types of requirements can restrict the available types and constructions of valves that can be used in a given application.
There is accordingly a need for improved pressure relief valve designs that provide relatively low pressure loss and other design metrics while achieving reliable and accurate set point operation. It is to these and other improvements that various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed.